Messi, Mbappe and Benzema in race for FIFA best player award
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe will once again compete for the FIFA best player of the year award. Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain and France’s superstar forward made it to the list of three players announced by FIFA on Friday, eight weeks after strong performances for their teams at the World Cup final in Qatar. The third name in this list is that of Karim Benzema.
The three players were selected by voting by a global panel of national team captains and coaches as well as selected journalists from each of FIFA’s 211 member nations. Fans also participated in this poll online. England’s Beth Mead, America’s Alex Morgan and Spain’s Alexia Puteles were selected by a separate global voting panel in the running for the Best Women’s Player award. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on February 27 in Paris.